Naruto's Raven
by Whatsinthebasment
Summary: Naruto dreams of becoming the next Hokage, of being one of the legendary writers of his village. As an editor, he has a long way to go; from dealing with procrastinating writers, to his friends, and of course with the longtime love of his life Sakura. But when a new, genius editor named Sasuke transfers into Konoha Publishing, Naruto may be way out of his depth.
1. Chapter 1: Making the Deadline

Chapter 1- Making the Deadline

Naruto felt his scowl deepen as he read through his email messages. The longer he read, the deeper into a pit he sank, and the more weight came to push him underneath the surface.

As a star editor of Konoha Publishing, Naruto had a lot on his plate and his clients certainly weren't helping him out to the best of their ability. In fact, they were the ones who threw him under the bus in the first place.

The deadline for one of his works was at the end of next week and the author was nowhere near done with the chapter. She'd sent an email practically begging for help rather than offering a possible solution to their problem. Naruto knew he couldn't bribe the publishers into waiting another few days, he'd pulled that card too many times before and the trick was wearing thin. The author just wasn't coming through anymore. Excuses piled on top of excuses and Naruto didn't know whether she was simply over her head or really shabby at making deadlines.

He couldn't blame her too much though. The two had a few things in common: they ran late most of the time, their appetites were pretty dynamic, and they were both unreasonably determined. No matter how late the chapters came, the author never failed to get them in. Naruto also found the author to be a very respectable woman.

He had learned his lesson from his rookie days and no longer messed around with his clients, but he would still eat lunch with her occasionally simply to bond over their personal lives outside of the workplace.

However, this particular author was dragging him through the wringer. All of his other authors had come through this month, except for her, and Naruto didn't have time to put up with her problem; he doubted he'd have time for anything at all, ever again.

"Naruto, earth to Naruto."

Naruto glanced up from his keyboard to see his boss Kakashi standing beside his desk.

"Oh, hey boss what's up?"

Kakashi adjusted the allergy mask he always wore and chuckled back at him, the sound slightly muffled. "Sometimes I think your face is going to be permanently set into a scowl…it doesn't suit you."

Naruto couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled out of his chest. He tried to smooth down the creases in his forehead with his hand. "Yeah I'm pretty sure that I'm prematurely aging over here."

"Author giving you grief?"

"Yeah…"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes and scratched the back of his head.

"Well I hate to add more to your plate…but I don't have much of a choice. I need you to take another author."

Naruto widened his eyes in horror. "Who?!"

"His name is Sai. He wrote Teacher Student Warfare, Waiting in July, Night Stalker, and a few others."

"Aren't those…crazy erotic mangas?"

Kakashi coughed into his fist and cast a quick look around the room.

"Yeah but I couldn't assign him to anyone else. Kiba's struggling with his four, Lee is nearly having a breakdown when he insists that he can handle more, Sakura is barely hanging on, and the others…well the others…"

"Yeah I get it." Naruto turned his attention back to the computer and began to adjust his calendar. "I got you covered Kakashi."

"You're a lifesaver."

"How's Make Out Paradise coming along?"

Naruto couldn't ignore the high pitch of excitement that touched his boss's voice when he responded in a rush, "The fourth book is making its last rounds through publishing and Jiraiya's already laying down the plot line for the next book, in fact I sat down with him a couple of days ago to help him brainstorm ideas and from what I heard it's going to be yet another best seller that's going to skyrocket his career and bring this company back into the spotlight-"

After a while, Naruto began to tune him out, nodding occasionally to make Kakashi think that he was still listening as he began to stress about his schedule all over again.

There was nothing Naruto hated more than the First Meeting. When he had to introduce himself to the author and start anew, when feelings were still awkward and hesitant as they became acquainted. It was the meetings afterward that Naruto loved; trying to bond with his new client and learning their style of writing or drawing was always an experience that he enjoyed as an editor. But now he had to meet Sai, and from the rumors he'd heard, Sai was kind of weird. Hella weird. And to add on top of that, Naruto had never handled erotic novels before, let along mangas. He didn't know if things would get awkward or if he would manage to do a good job.

Naruto wasn't a genius. It was his hard work that brought him to the attention of the public and the head of their department. However, Naruto was only twenty four and very young in the eyes of the majority of the people working in the building, which also meant that he had limited experience. This was his chance to broaden his horizons and see how he would do in this line of work, but erotic novels didn't exactly sound like his cup of tea.

"Stop dodging the bullet and meet up with the guy already!" Kiba slammed his beer down on the counter with enough force for it to slosh up and down the sides of the can. "You're gonna be spending a lot of time with him in the future, might as well get used to him now."

"But he's creepy." Naruto whined. He couldn't stop turning his drink in his hands long enough to take a sip of it.

"I have to agree with Kiba on this one." Choji shrugged as he plowed through another order of fries. "You're just playing chicken Naruto."

Naruto rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and focused his glare on the hanging lights. Had his friends dragged him to the bar simply for the sake of teasing him? "I don't run away."

"And I never go back on my word." Kiba mocked him with a sneer. "Yeah Naruto, we know. So grow a pair and schedule the meeting."

Naruto groaned. He knew his friends were right. It was only a matter of time before he had to meet Sai anyway. He needed to do it now while he had the time.

"Geez, Kakashi's working us like horses isn't he? I mean, Saturday feels like the only day I have to relax anymore and even that's starting to seem like a temporary luxury." Kiba sighed and dropped his chin into his hand. "I bet my dog thinks I'm neglecting him…"

"I think it's a good way to keep us going!" Lee nodded fiercely from his spot along the counter and took a large gulp of water. "We need to be pushed to reach our full potential!"

"Says the man running on an hour of sleep." Neji muttered over his drink. He watched the others with a subdued expression, his words lacking a bite from his own sleep deprivation.

"See, even Neji can't manage to keep his high quality of sass! He's just as useless to the group as Choji!" Kiba groaned.

"Hey." Choji interjected. "I'm the one who eats the snacks, I'm useful."

Naruto dropped his head into his arms. His friends were just as stupid as he was.

"Hey, you know what I heard? There's someone transferring to our company named Sasuke Uchiha." Kiba lowered his voice to a hushed whisper. "He's coming to our department as a new editor and I hear he's the real deal."

Naruto's head snapped up in annoyance.

"Hah? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Uchiha?" Lee asked slowly, as if he were mistaken. "As in Uchiha Enterprises Uchiha?"

"Yeah I hear it's the president's younger son. The one who couldn't take over the company." Kiba scratched at his growing beard and wiggled his eyebrows at Naruto. "Looks like you got competition."

"Bullshit." Naruto chugged the remains of his beer and scooted away from the counter. "I gotta go."

"Call up creepy guy!" Kiba called after him as he stormed out of the bar. "Tell him I'm a huge fan of his work!"

Naruto ignored him; a surge of annoyance flooded his thoughts. An Uchiha coming to their publishing company? He always believed that Uchihas thought of themselves as too high and mighty to bother with them, let alone the President's son. Something wasn't adding up, and why didn't Kakashi tell him anything? Like hell he'd spend the rest of his career putting up with this guy, there wouldn't even be a competition. Naruto was the best editor in Konoha and he would make sure this Uchiha knew his place.

Naruto stormed his way home, grumbling to himself about how much his life had come to suck, and found himself faced with harsh reality.

"You're late again." Sakura huffed from her book. "Late equals no dinner."

"Sakura, give me a break!"

She quirked a pink eyebrow at him; her face held no trace of a smile.

"Make your own or eat leftovers."

Naruto groaned and dragged himself to the couch to drop onto it like a dead body. He didn't have the energy to cook, let alone walk to the fridge and eat; he could easily go to sleep right here and now. He watched his roommate through one of his eyes; she swiftly turned through the pages of her book with a pensive expression.

"How's studying goin'?" he finally asked her.

Sakura looked up from her book and focused her sharp green eyes on Naruto.

"It's okay. I feel like I'm falling behind since work's being so demanding."

Naruto nodded in agreement. Work was certainly taxing, but for Sakura to be handling work and studying to be a doctor, he had to give her credit for her diligence. She was only working as an editor to pay her way through medical school; hopefully she'd be able to put up with all the stress that came from both.

"You're amazing Sakura." Naruto told her with a yawn as he splayed out on the couch. "I could never do what you do."

"Thanks." Sakura hummed from her spot, before quickly adding, "And no I won't go out with you."

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek before the words could tumble out for the millionth time. He didn't know why Sakura was playing so hard to get, all he wanted was a date, nothing else. He couldn't help the fact that he was madly in love with her; her tough exterior and quick wits always kept him on his toes both at home and at work. He just wished that she held a fraction of the affection he felt for her towards him.

"I'm a perfect dating candidate. I'm nice, I'm funny, I have pretty eyes…"

"Is that what the women at the bars tell you?" Sakura laughed from her seat. Naruto frowned. "Do they tell you that your hair is starting to resemble an old crazy blonde mop?"

"Sakuraaaaa…."

"Oh shut up." Sakura closed her book with a loud snap and Naruto heard her footsteps fade away down the hall. "I'm going to bed."

"Night!" Naruto called after her. The only response he got was the slamming of her door. _Love you too._

When Sunday rolled around, Naruto found himself pouting in one of his favorite cafés. He had finally gotten around to calling up Sai and setting up a meeting, but as authors usually tended to be, Sai was late. Naruto sat alone at one of the corner tables, watching his mocha latte steam as he waited for the inevitable. The restaurant was relatively empty, so he figured it wouldn't be hard to pick him out of the crowd of customers.

Soon enough, a young man stepped into the shop, his dark eyes darting around the room until they landed on Naruto. He slowly made his way over to him and dropped into the seat across.

 _No handshake?_

"Hello, I'm assuming you're Naruto Uzumaki, my new editor?" his voice was unbelievably soft, making his presence a lot weaker than Naruto expected. To add to that, the guy was unbelievably pale; he was as white as a ghost and it didn't help that the rest of his features were dark. His dark hair and eyes stood out in contrast more than his awful haircut.

"Uh, yeah that's me." Naruto shifted in his seat to sit up a little straighter. "I'm guessing you're Sai then?"

"Yes." Sai's eyes raked over Naruto's appearance. "You're a lot younger than I expected you to be. Are you still in high school?"

"No, I'm twenty-four."

"Oh, well you dress like you're still in high school." Sai shrugged and pulled out a notepad to start scribbling something down.

Naruto chewed on his lip to stop himself from saying something negative. So Sai was the blunt type of guy who didn't care what came out of his mouth…this should be interesting.

"What are you writing?"

"Notes." Sai responded. "I'm thinking about creating a character based off of you. A blonde haired and blue eyed boy who is actually in his twenties but dresses like a horny teenager."

"I'm wearing a flannel and jeans!"

Sai glanced up from his notepad and smirked. "Exactly."

Naruto took a huge gulp from his latte, focusing on the burn in the back of his throat rather than the string of swears that was about to tumble out of his mouth.

"So you write under the erotic category huh?"

"Yes, it's on my resume."

"You don't seem like the type." Naruto decided to test the waters a little, expecting him to get offended.

"People tell me that." Sai didn't look up from his notepad. "The question is, are you experienced enough to properly edit my work?"

Naruto coughed when his coffee went down the wrong way. "Excuse me?"

"You grow your hair out, you dress like a horny teenager, you order lattes, don't tell me you're a virgin too." Sai sighed and set down his notepad to give Naruto a judging stare.

"W-what does ordering lattes have to do with anything?"

"Are you a virgin?"

"N-no, but that's none of your business!"

"Good." Sai picked up his notepad again and scribbled in it, muttering the words under his breath. "Not a virgin. Possibly a prostitute."

Naruto dropped his head into his hands with a heavy groan. He couldn't handle this guy, no way, no way.

"Have you read any of my works?" Sai asked him.

Naruto forced himself back into a sitting position and pushed his bangs back.

"I've read a couple."

"And what did you think?"

"They're very…" Naruto dropped his gaze to the hard wood table. "Very detailed."

"I try." Sai mused. He finally put his notepad away and zipped up his bag. "Well, this was a pleasant meeting, it could have gone better but I'm satisfied with you."

Naruto could feel the beginning pinpricks of anger. "Oh? Leaving already?"

 _Wait, he's satisfied with me? Who the hell is this guy?!  
_ "I have other business to attend to. Nice meeting you Naruto, I look forward to working with you in the future." And with that, Sai turned on his heels and walked out of the café without looking back.

Naruto stared after him in open-mouthed shock. He was glad that it was over, but geez was that guy a lot to handle. His way of speaking felt almost robotic; the way he'd hand out an insult as easily as offering a compliment was almost too perfect. The guy was weird and Naruto had been right to be iffy about the whole meeting in the first place.

"What the hell am I going to do?" Naruto whined into the last half of his latte, wishing it could somehow offer him an answer.

Naruto spent the next week worrying.

Every day brought him closer and closer to Friday, and the author was still not ready. Naruto was pulling out his hair, fluttering around the office in distress, and running on less the three hours of sleep for the week. By the time Friday rolled around, with the hard copy of the chapter due at two p.m. sharp, Naruto knew it was his death sentence.

But at one twenty, he received a call to meet the author at the library in town to pick up the finished chapter.

"Are you serious? You're sure it's done?!" Naruto cried into the receiver, grabbing his bag as he hung up the phone. He spared no time in rushing out of the office, taking the stairs two at a time instead of the elevator, and rushed four blocks to the public library.

He found his problematic red-headed author in less than thirty seconds, sitting in the lobby with a manila envelope on her lap.

"Karin I'm going to kill you!" he hissed as she handed the envelope to him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry alright?!" Karin adjusted her glasses and put on a scowl. "I got a cold and then really bad writer's block and then‒"

"I'm sorry, but I don't have time to hear it! We'll plan a day to catch up I have to get this in!" Naruto waved goodbye and sprinted back out the library doors and down the street. He dodged people on the street, offering a tired "Sorry" or "Excuse me ladies!" as he pushed through crowds trying to get back to his office on time.

He stumbled into the lobby at one fifty, out of breath and sweaty, and tried to calculate whether it was faster to take the elevator to the seventh floor or the stairs. Naruto decided on the latter and began his ascent up, ignoring the pain flaring in his chest as he pushed his way to the right floor. He threw open the door and raced through the offices, heading straight to the person in charge.

"Neji!" Naruto cried, waving the envelope in the air.

Neji turned to see him coming, his gray eyes widened in horror as he processed what was happening.

"Printing room!" he shouted in response and started running towards the back of the room. Other employees flattened themselves against the wall to allow Naruto and Neji to race by, all of them used to their crazy antics.

Neji snatched the envelope from Naruto's hand and began his work, copying every page for print.

"You better hope she kept your edits!" Neji growled as he collected the final product and slipped it back into the envelope. "Otherwise we're both screwed!"

Naruto only had the strength to offer him a salute and took the envelope back. All he had to do was race back down to the sixth floor and hand Kakashi the final print. He could do it, he only had…Naruto checked his watch and felt his heart sink. He had a minute.

Naruto barreled out of the office and thundered down the stairs back to his own floor, praying he wouldn't trip and fall. He nearly jumped over desks and chairs to reach his section of the floor and stumbled through the archway just as Kakashi was beginning to offer his apologies to his second-in-command Obito, who was also the one in charge of bringing in the final copies.

"Naruto?" Kakashi shot out of his chair, his eyes gleaming. "Is that‒?"

Naruto held the envelope up in triumph. He handed it over to Obito as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Nice work Naruto." Obito smiled and gave Kakashi a curt nod. "I'll make sure this gets in."

Once Obito left the office, Naruto collapsed into his chair in exhaustion. He considered himself a pretty fit guy, but today had a little too much cardio for his liking. He was sweating through his jacket and shirt; looking more like a soaked puppy than a professional.

"You always manage to pull through Naruto." Kakashi dropped a hand onto Naruto's shoulder and patted affectionately. "Like I said before, you're a life-saver."

"I try." Naruto wheezed with a small smile.

"Well now you can relax." Kakashi moved to the front of the office and flipped the large banner they hung on the wall to "END". "This marks the end of the cycle and you all can rest. We have three free days next week before the cycle begins again."

The room offered a low chorus of "yays". Lee had his head on his desk, Kiba had taken a break on the floor, and Sakura had tapped out on the office couch. The room looked more like a crime scene than an office.

He was done. For the next five days, Naruto was free of stress and worry, which was everything he needed at time like this. Well, maybe a shower. A shower would do him some good right now.

"You're all free to leave, catch up on that sleep." Kakashi returned to his desk to grab his bag. Of course he would be the first to leave, if Kakashi was famous of anything, it was being late and leaving early.

Naruto listened to Kakashi's command and stumbled home with Sakura. She went straight to her bed while Naruto dragged himself into the shower, nearly falling asleep in the warm spray of water before he could even make it to his bed. But once he did hit his bed, the soft mattress underneath him felt like heaven.

He burrowed himself beneath the blankets and slept peacefully, until he was shaken awake by Sakura.

"Leave me alone." Naruto moaned into his pillow, but Sakura's shaking intensified.

"Get up you've slept long enough." Naruto could feel the bed dip where Sakura had taken a seat. "Kiba wants to go out tonight to celebrate at Yamato's."

"Go without me."

"I will hit you."

Naruto abruptly sat up and the blankets fell away to leave him exposed to the cool air coming through the windows. He blinked in the dark at Sakura's expression and scratched at his bed head.

"Now hurry up." Sakura commanded and stood up, leaving Naruto in the dark. He didn't bother turning on the light to get dressed; he was too tired to care what he was putting on.

When he stepped out of his room he examined himself in the hallway mirror. He had gotten lucky this time and managed to put on something nice. He wore his black button-up and dark jeans; it was definitely better than the time he wore his bright orange blazer‒Sakura had never forgiven him for that day.

"Brush your hair!" Sakura snapped at him as she examined her make-up in her mirror.

Naruto obeyed, combing through the knots and curls that had taken place in his hair while he slept. Once it finally began to look like it usually did, Sakura grabbed him by the arm.

"Shall we?" she smiled up at him. Naruto smiled back and the two made their way out of the apartment together.

The walk to the club wasn't far, only two blocks away from their apartment, but it could feel unbelievably long after a night of drinking. Sakura and Naruto would hit up Yamato's frequently after the work cycle to celebrate their survival of yet another month.

Kiba stood waiting outside the door and waved as the two approached him.

"Don't you two look like the cutest couple?" he teased.

"He wishes." Sakura laughed.

"I do." Naruto admitted.

They all walked into the club laughing. The loud music quickly swallowed their voices and replaced with a heavy bass that throbbed through Naruto's body as they made their way to a booth. The flashing lights lit up the club in green and red, illuminating the people inside with eerie colors as they mingled around the bar or danced on the dance floor.

"Let's start off with a round of shots." Kiba slid out of the booth. "I'll be back."

Kiba quickly returned with a platter of shot glasses. He set them on the table and dropped back into his seat beside Naruto with a hungry expression. They all picked up their glasses and held them up.

"To finishing the cycle!" Sakura had to yell the toast for them to hear, and they all cheered as they knocked their shot glasses together.

Naruto took the shot with a quick tilt of his neck, relishing in the warm burn it left in his stomach. They proceed to finish their three shots each, giggling at each other's disgusted faces as they did so.

Just as Naruto and Kiba finished their last shot, the doors to the club opened and a group of girls squealed.

"Oh my god." One of them said to her friend. "It's Sasuke Uchiha!"

"Sasuke…?" Kiba mouthed, a wicked smile starting to show on his face. Naruto craned his neck to see the dark haired boy stride in ( _not walk‒he fucking strides!_ ) alongside a tall boy with white hair. They ordered their drinks first before walking over to an empty booth, not far from where Naruto, Kiba, and Sakura sat.

"So that's the bastard huh?" Kiba sat back in his seat and let out a faint whistle. "I can see why he's popular."

Naruto kept his gaze on Sasuke. He wanted to know what was so great about this guy; he was tall, Naruto could admit that he was handsome, but that was about it.

Sasuke stood up from his booth and shrugged out of his jacket; still talking to the boy he was with. He must have felt Naruto's gaze on him, since he slowly looked over in Naruto's direction and the two made eye contact.

Naruto felt as if he were looking into two black pools; churning with some intense emotion that he couldn't place. Sasuke's face quirked up in a smirk before he broke eye contact and slid back into his booth.

"I don't like him." Naruto declared to no one in particular.

"I'm gonna go get us some more drinks." Sakura smiled and left the booth with a skip. Kiba and Naruto watched her walk past the bar and straight over to Sasuke's booth.

"That traitor!" Kiba hissed.

Naruto watched her slide into the spot next to Sasuke. Even though the room was dark, Naruto could see how red Sakura's cheeks were as she spoke to him. Sasuke made room for her and whispered into her ear with a sickeningly sweet smile that made Naruto shake.

Of all people for Sakura to be interested in‒

"Hey." Kiba put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Let's get outta here, the guy's an eyesore."

It took a bit of tugging and pulling to get Naruto out of his seat, but eventually the two were outside and walking towards a new destination.

"I'll treat you to ramen big guy, so cheer up." Kiba pointed out Naruto's favorite restaurant Ichiraku with a wide smile. "You can get anything you want."

"Thanks Kiba." Naruto let himself be dragged into the small restaurant and took a seat next to Kiba. The scent of cooking noodles and sizzling vegetables dulled the tension building in him and brought a small smile on his face.

"Ah, nice to see you two!" The owner Teuchi smiled at them after he came from the back. He took in Naruto's sad expression and Kiba's wary one. "I know exactly what you need."

"Thanks." Kiba called after him.

Once their ramen was set in front of them, Naruto tried to drown his sorrows in his favorite broth.

"Look, it sucks that Sakura's interested in him, but that doesn't mean anything!"

"He stole her heart just like that." Naruto mumbled around his noodles. "He didn't even say a word to her."

"But he's like that with everyone! I bet once she learns what kind of a person he is she'll be disgusted."

"Nn." Naruto didn't believe that. If it were true, there would be bad rumors about him circling around the village and that was the last thing an Uchiha would want.

"There are other things you have to do anyway; you don't have time for girls." Kiba laughed, but it quickly died. "What about being the next Hokage?"

Naruto slurped his mouthful and set his chopsticks down. Kiba had a point. It had always been Naruto's dream to be the next Hokage, who were some of the most famous writers in their village in history. Their books were outstanding, their messages unbelievably inspirational, and their stories were the most captivating tales Naruto had ever read. He figured his dream stemmed from the fact that his father was the fourth Hokage, and he had always looked up to him for that.

"You always said that you were going to be the next Hokage, a better writer than your dad and the best writer in the village. Did you forget about that?"

"I'll never be as cool as my dad." Naruto let out a bitter laugh. "Let alone write better than him."

Naruto knew his words were out of character, but he felt like they were the truth. He needed to accept reality for what it was now.

"It was all just a stupid ambition I had as a kid. I wanted to be better than everyone at everything. I wanted to be _somebody_." Naruto picked up his chopsticks again to poke at his noodles. "But in reality I'm probably going to be an editor for the rest of my life, and I'm okay with that."

Kiba stared at Naruto, mouth agape in shock. His bowl was forgotten, and the broth steamed in front of him.

"You're…kidding right?" Kiba tried to laugh it off, but when he saw Naruto's serious expression he stopped. "I think it's just the booze getting to your head‒"

"I'm trying to be realistic Kiba."

"But it's your dream Naruto!"

"It _was_ my dream." Naruto snapped. "Not anymore."

Kiba dropped his gaze to his bowl, but didn't make a move to eat its contents.

"Don't get me wrong, I won't let Sasuke walk into our office and outdo me." Naruto tried to give Kiba a small smile but he knew it looked fake, "I'm not giving up on being an editor because I love my job."

"Yeah…" Kiba finally picked up his chopsticks and scooped up his noodles with a sad slurp.

They ate in silence for the remainder of the night. Kiba didn't offer any jokes, which Naruto appreciated. He didn't want him to feel as though the jokes were flat; Naruto just wasn't in the mood to laugh tonight.

They said their goodbyes after they finished their meals and went their separate ways. Kiba shuffled off with his hands deep in his pockets and Naruto walked off without Sakura. She would simply have to find her own way home, drunk or not. Maybe Sasuke would be enough of a gentleman to walk her home.

Naruto thought work Monday would be relaxing, considering the cycle didn't begin until Thursday, but he knew that was when Sasuke would come in.

Naruto blew out a heavy breath as he turned onto his street. He was ready to handle Sasuke. If he was ready to handle Sai, he was ready to handle yet another asshole in his life. As long as he could keep the growing bubble of hatred in his stomach down and out of sight, he would be okay. Sasuke wasn't going to get under his skin.

Or so he thought.


	2. Chapter 2: Rivals

On Monday morning Naruto spent his time punching angrily at his keyboard and pretending not to glance at the clock every thirty seconds for Sasuke's arrival. He had a mental countdown going on, the seconds until his "peaceful" work environment reached its demise and the beginning of his own personal Hell. The anticipation was torturing him and that pissed him off more than anything else. He didn't want to be thinking about Sasuke before he even showed up; the guy didn't deserve any of Naruto's time.

Naruto's anticipation ended when Obito stepped into their office with a familiar man in tow. It was around eleven o'clock and Naruto had been considering whether the arrival was worth skipping his lunch break for, when Sasuke finally stepped into the office.

His sweater made him look like the definition of a privileged Uchiha, but that wasn't what went straight to Naruto's nerves. It was the condescending look he held as he examined the room.

"Guys I'd like to introduce your new coworker. He will be with us from this day forward as an editor and I hope you'll welcome him with open arms." Obito turned to stage-whisper to Sasuke, "You want to say the rest?"

Sasuke shrugged and took a small step forward.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha and I have only one goal. I'm going to be this village's best editor before climbing to the top and becoming the village's best author."

Naruto could _hear_ the entire room turn to look at him.

The words sunk low, acting as the heat that set his blood boiling. _Is this guy fucking serious?_

"Well I'm glad the people in this office have high ambitions." Kakashi stood up from his desk and crossed the small distance to shake Sasuke's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you and welcome to Konoha Publishing." Naruto noticed the small glance Kakashi gave him before he gestured for Sasuke to follow him.

Sasuke passed Naruto's desk slowly, his eyes focused on Naruto with the same smirk he'd had Friday night. It was as if he could sense the anger radiating off of Naruto when he walked by, judging from the satisfied grin his smirk morphed into.

 _You cannot fight this man in your office Naruto._

Naruto made a pledge to himself. Sasuke would not get the best of him. Sasuke would not make him lose his cool. And Sasuke would not get any of Naruto's attention unless it was absolutely necessary for work.

And he lived by those words successfully for two weeks.

He learned very few things about the dark haired boy over that time. He noticed that Sasuke only spoke when he found it absolutely impossible not to or when he was talking to the higher ups. If he could get away without speaking, his affirmative was a simple "hn" and the others seemed to get used to it as if it were acceptable. Whenever Lee and Sakura invited him out to join them for lunch (Kiba and Naruto would pretend like they didn't hear them), Sasuke would always turn them down saying he had work to do.

Naruto never voiced his opinions out loud.

However, the only thing keeping him from shouting at Sasuke was the fact that he was at work and he really needed this job. His loud mouth had gotten him in trouble in the past, but if Sasuke kept acting the way he was Naruto knew he was bound to snap.

So he pretended to ignore the bad behavior, the snarky comments, the sarcastic tone Sasuke always kept in his voice, and the way he seemed nonchalant about every possible thing in the office.

Naruto lost his cool by the end of the week.

"Look." He hissed at Sasuke. "I've kept my mouth shut for two weeks, but you are seriously getting on my nerves."

Sasuke cocked his head, but didn't bother to fight the force of Naruto's weight pushing him against the wall.

"So you _are_ the guy from the bar." Sasuke mused with a small grin. "It's been bothering me for a while now."

"Shut the hell up!" Naruto twisted his fist deeper into Sasuke's shirt. "Your attitude sucks dude!"

Sasuke wasn't listening to him. He was off in his own personal world, his eyes set on Naruto's face with a somewhat bored look.

"I recognized you by the stupid look on your face." He sighed. "At least you cut your hair, now you look like you actually have a job."

Naruto could taste the metallic taste of blood in his mouth from where he bit his tongue.

"You were also with that pink haired girl." Sasuke was still talking, completely unfazed by the increasingly dangerous hold Naruto had on him. "God, she was so annoying. Tell her to leave me alone in the future? I'm not interested in her."

"Do you want me to beat you to death in this office now, or wait until after we get off?"

"Oh please." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I'm not scared of you."

Naruto closed his eyes and exhaled, hoping to push out all of the bad things he wanted to do to this guy before Kakashi came back from his lunch break. If only he could break just one leg…

"As I said before, your attitude sucks ass, you're rude, you don't even look like you give a shit about this job! So brighten up Sunshine or else we're all going to have a problem."

Sasuke raised a dark brow. "Oh? You going to fire me if I don't?"

Naruto was at a loss for words. He blinked at Sasuke in a brief moment of weakness, which Sasuke took to his advantage and twisted out of Naruto's grip.

"You don't have any authority here, from what I can see. If you can't fire me I suggest you mind your own business." Sasuke said before he turned to walk away, leaving Naruto alone in the office with his fury.

* * *

Naruto thought his threat would at least settle somewhere in Sasuke's conscious, but sure enough the next day rolled around and Sasuke, if at all possible, turned up the sass.

While he typed out an email begging Karin to get her chapter in early this month, Naruto heard Lee talking to Sasuke in a low voice.

"You know, you and Naruto seem to have a lot in common."

For the first time, Naruto saw Sasuke stop his work to give one of his coworkers his full attention.

"Oh?" he inquired, turning in his seat to look at Lee. "How so?"

"Well, like you Naruto wants to be the next Hokage because his father was one! He's also the best editor I know, so he's practically halfway there!"

Sasuke frowned, his thin fingers drumming idly against his desk.

"He wants to be the next Hokage?"

Lee nodded. "Yup! I admire his hard work and dedication a lot! I believe we could all learn from him‒"

"Hah!" Sasuke closed his eyes before opening them again, his gaze met Naruto's instantly. "What a stupid dream."

 _Remember your pledge Naruto._

"It's not a stupid dream!" Kiba growled from his desk. "Yours is no different!"

"It is different." Sasuke went back to his computer without looking in Kiba's direction. "I'm simply striving to be better than the Hokage. I'm also following a different approach to my own reality. I don't try to make crazy dreams come true like an idiot."

Kiba pushed out of his seat to stand. "Hey man‒"

"Kiba let him be." Naruto told him with the wave of his hand. "He ain't worth your time."

"I'm not just going to let him badmouth you‒"

"Let him be." Naruto glared back at Sasuke with every ounce of hatred he could muster. It only made Sasuke's smirk widen.

It didn't take long for Sasuke to become the President's favorite. She would call him down regularly, put him in charge of meetings with Kakashi and Obito, and invite him out on her gambling (drinking) nights. Sasuke never refused her, playing pet to her every wish and command while he defied the effects of the Cycle; while the office wallowed in its own state of self-misery and sleep deprivation, Sasuke shined brighter than any star in the sky. Naruto became convinced that Sasuke wasn't human. He was simply the devil in disguise, possibly put in the building solely for the purpose of torturing him until he gave up. But Naruto wasn't giving up.

But boy, did he want to.

What contributed to Naruto's epiphany was Karin's phone call for a meeting. Naruto met her at their usual place, a little tea shop near the library in town, prepared for the general lay-down on how the chapter was either not done or nonexistent. He wasn't prepared for what she had to say.

"You want Sasuke to be your new editor?" Naruto screeched, drawing the attention of the entire shop.

Karin rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. But, yes I want Sasuke to be the editor of my work from now on, don't get offended."

"I am offended! Why do you want him? I've been your editor for years!"

"A year." Karin held up a finger. "And you've been a very good one Naruto."

"I don't understand why you're doing this!"

"Because," Karin pursed her lips, "Like I said no offense, but Sasuke is hot! And I'm not saying that you aren't‒" she paused when she saw the tortured expression on Naruto's face.

"You're killing me Karin."

"Hear me out! Sasuke and I used to have a thing okay?" Karin reached over to rustle through her bag. She set one of her works on the table and cracked it open to a page, her finger pressed against the face of the love interest. "Does he look familiar to you?"

Naruto tilted his head to get a better look, realization suddenly dawning on him.

"Don't tell me…your books have been about Sasuke the entire time?!"

"Naruto, you are very stupid, another reason why I want to change editors." Karin huffed and pulled her book from Naruto's grasp. "I want Sasuke to read these, remember our old flame, and come back to me."

Naruto wanted to gag.

"Well it's been a pleasure stressing over your works, which happened to be about the guy I hate, I hope you get over your sick obsession before it kills you."

"Oh grow up Naruto." Karin pulled her bright red hair into a ponytail. "It's not an obsession."

With a sharp laugh, Naruto got out of his seat and walked out of the place without looking back. The world was going to shit and here he was, being pulled along for the worst of it.

He should be relieved. He didn't have to put up with Karin's bullshit anymore, ever again, in fact, Sasuke would!

The smile failed to stay on his face as he made his way down the streets of Konoha, a heavy question weighing on his mind.

What was so fucking great about Sasuke Uchiha?

Karin would rather have him as an editor, the President of his office building loved him, Sakura was head over heels in love with him and so was the whole freaking village. What did he have that Naruto didn't? Money? The perfect upbringing?

Naruto stopped in his tracks.

Luckily, no one was behind him at the time; people simply walked around him as he stood in the middle of the sidewalk staring up at the sky with his mouth agape in his "ah-hah!" moment.

Maybe he was going about this entire situation the wrong way. Instead of ignoring Sasuke and letting him live his smug little life, Naruto could barge his way into it and make it a living hell. That way he could find out all he needed to know about Sasuke and enjoy himself at the same time, all while making Sasuke miserable.

"I'm a genius." Naruto whispered.

* * *

The next day, Naruto set his plan in motion.

During the lunch break, he dropped into Lee's seat beside Sasuke and cupped his chin in his hand. He sat like that until Sasuke slowly stopped typing and turned to glare at him in annoyance.

"What do you want loser?"

"How ya doin'?" Naruto asked in his sweetest voice.

Sasuke visibly cringed and narrowed his eyes.

"Just fine, now go away."

"Tell me about yourself."

Sasuke didn't turn away from him; he kept his eyes on Naruto warily like he expected him to strike.

"No thanks."

"When's your birthday?"

"I was never born."

"What's your favorite color?"

"None of your business."

"Do you have any friends?"

"Yes, but unlike some people, I don't combine business with personal affairs."

"Do you have any allergies?"

"Yeah, you. Can you leave before my throat swells up?"

Naruto leaned closer. He was actually having fun, watching Sasuke grow more and more uncomfortable under his stare.

"Boxers or briefs?"

"Now you're moving on to sexual harassment?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. If that was a challenge, he would take it.

"Were you a cute baby? I bet you were and you probably haven't changed." Naruto couldn't hide the sneer that stretched its way across his face.

What fueled his fire even more was the pink tint that touched Sasuke's cheeks.

He stood up so abruptly Naruto started at the movement.

"I'm done with you." Sasuke said simply before he strode out of the office and down the hall. Naruto watched him go, biting back his laughter until he couldn't hold it anymore.

"Dude." Kiba crawled from underneath his desk, nearly scaring the living daylights out of Naruto. "That was fucking awesome!"

"Were you hiding under your desk and eavesdropping?"

"I do it all the time." Kiba waved his hand dismissively, his face set in a wolfish grin. "I hear a lot of shit this way‒and was that sarcastic flirting I heard Naruto Uzumaki?"

"That was the only way I knew how to make him uncomfortable." Naruto shrugged. And boy did it work!

"Now we know the Uchiha shies away from any form of homoerotic displays of affection."

"I don't think homoerotic is the right word…"

"I'm gonna go try to kiss him." Kiba jumped to his feet and rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Gonna get me a taste of that Uchiha."

Naruto frowned.

"I can't tell if you want to fight the guy or fuck him."

Kiba shrugged. "Man, I don't even know anymore." With that, he walked out of the office; his voice rang through the other office. "Yo where'd that Uchiha go?"

 _Well that went surprisingly well._

Naruto let out a content sigh and leaned back in his chair. He wondered how long he'd have to keep this up before Sasuke cracked. A part of him hoped it would take a long time; this was by far one of the most entertaining things he'd ever done in his life. It was finally time to get Sasuke back.

Sasuke played Naruto's game for the rest of the week, offering his snide remarks to Naruto's constant harassment, showing no signs of surrender. By the end of the week, Naruto reached the conclusion that he simply had to come up with cruder questions and push Sasuke just a little farther. The lack of reaction was starting to make the game boring, nothing else Naruto said made him as uncomfortable as it had before and Naruto wondered why.

When Naruto came home Friday evening he was shocked to see Sasuke sitting at their kitchen table. He chatted with Sakura while she hovered over a pot cooking on the stove, her giggling filling the apartment.

"What the fuck?" Naruto dropped his bag in the doorway and stormed up to the table to glare down at Sasuke. "Sakura, what the hell is _he_ doing here?"

"Um, language?" Sakura scowled at him, her spoon poised above the pot ready for being used as a weapon. "Sasuke is here for dinner, of course. Now be respectful or this spoon is going up your ass!"

Sasuke smirked.

"Oh that thought entertains you huh?" Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the collar and lifted him out of the chair. "We need to talk."

"Hn." Sasuke hummed. He followed Naruto into the hallway, allowing himself to be pulled but still managing to look unfazed.

"What are you doing in my apartment with Sakura?" Naruto hissed at him, letting his hand drop to his side. There wasn't a point displaying unnecessary violence on him, clearly it didn't move the guy.

"Sakura just told you."

"You hate Sakura."

"Yeah, well." Sasuke's smirk was back. "It appears she can be helpful."

Naruto furrowed his brows. "…What?"

"She has a lot of…convenient stories about you." Sasuke mused before he stepped out of Naruto's swiping range. "She likes to share some pretty embarrassing things, _Mr. Bedwetter_."

Naruto's jaw dropped in disbelief. He came over to hear his secrets from Sakura? Was this his form of revenge?

"You're playing dirty Uchiha!"

"I just asked and she told me."

"You're using her!"

"So?" Sasuke made his way down the hall, looking at the pictures as he went. "I don't care."

"Get out of our apartment."

"I'm pretty comfortable here." Sasuke's hand trailed along the frame of Naruto's college diploma. "I'm actually surprised that you don't live in your parent's basement or something."

Naruto kept his voice flat. "Both of my parents are dead."

Sasuke froze for a brief second before he moved again. He glanced at Naruto over his shoulder to measure his expression.

"Well…mine are too."

The words were brief, but they left Naruto speechless. That was the first piece of information Sasuke had ever revealed to him personally. However, his sudden interest was quickly squashed.

"Your roommate is so easy to persuade, I'm almost tempted to take her away from you." Sasuke studied another piece of artwork, his hand pressed against his chin in a thoughtful look. "It would be too easy…"

That was what made Naruto snap. One second he was standing at the end of the hall in awe, the next he had Sasuke pinned against the wall in rage. It happened so fast even Sasuke seemed a little rattled when his head slammed into the plaster.

"Listen you little shit." Naruto leaned so close their noses were touching, "you can talk about me all you want, but don't you fucking dare bring Sakura into this!"

Sasuke didn't respond. Their heavy breaths mingled amongst each other in their close proximity, Naruto could nearly taste him on his breath.

Before he knew it, Naruto became hyperaware of their current position. He had Sasuke pinned underneath him, both arms acting as a cage on either side of his delicate face, and his leg between Sasuke's thighs to keep him in place. With their chests pressed together, Naruto could feel every breath Sasuke took, and he could feel the growing heat between them. He didn't know what he was waiting for. Did he want Sasuke to say something back? Was he waiting for Sasuke to hit him? If he wanted to kiss Sasuke he only had to tilt his head ever so slightly to the side…

Sasuke moved first. He pushed Naruto with enough force to send him flying back against the opposite wall of the hallway, causing a loud reverberating shake through the apartment.

Naruto heard Sakura call out his name in confusion, but he was focused on Sasuke. He wasn't expecting that amount of strength to come out of him; Naruto was a little taller with a more athletic build while Sasuke was built lean and agile, and it wasn't easy to move Naruto like that. Sasuke stood with his head down, blocking his expression. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and gave Naruto a deadly look.

"Don't you fucking touch me again." He spat. Naruto shrunk away from the acidity in his words and swallowed his response.

"What the hell are you two doing?!" Sakura appeared at the end of the hallway, still brandishing the spoon. When Sasuke stormed past her without a word, she only spared a glance at Naruto before chasing after the dark haired boy. "Sasuke? Sasuke what's wrong?!"

"I have to go." His voice sounded like ice. Sakura didn't respond, and when the door slammed shut Naruto knew he was in deep shit. He dropped his gaze to the floor, refusing to look up even when the angry footsteps approached him.

"Naruto what the hell have you done?" Sakura's shouting made him flinch; he didn't even care if she beat him with the hot spoon. He'd rather take the physical pain than the verbal abuse. "That was my only chance at having a real date with Sasuke! Everything was perfect and you ruined it! Why? Why do you have to ruin everything?!"

"He's a bad guy Sakura." Naruto hated how small his voice sounded. It was always the case when it came to arguing with her; he was so scared of her that it took the fighting spirit out of him. "He was just trying to use you‒"

"What the hell would you know? I can handle myself Naruto, stay out of my love life!"

Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. That was it. That was all he could muster.

Sakura stormed back down the hallway and Naruto could hear the small sobs escaping from her throat as she went back into the kitchen. He was starting to feel the guilt, it washed over him in a self-pitying curtain of regret and he wanted nothing more than to run away from it. Sakura was right; her love life was none of his business, and she was responsible enough to make her own decisions. Hell, she was twice as smart as him, if not more, she could handle herself.

Naruto peeled himself off the wall and slipped out of the back door. He took the fire escape stairs two at a time; he wanted to get as far away from that apartment as he could. He needed to clear his head; the image of Sasuke's glare still burned in Naruto's vision when he closed his eyes. It was a look of pure anger and…disgust. And Naruto knew the look of disgust better than anyone else.

Naruto kept his pace fast and brisk as he made his way into town. He dipped and dodged the other moving bodies rather than allowing them to push him along the current, no destination in mind, just away.

It didn't take long for Naruto to recognize the figure in front of him.

The tall, dark haired boy was moving through the thinning evening crowd similarly to Naruto. His navy blue shirt stood out in the waves of bright colors the townspeople tended to wear, and his usually perfect black hair was windblown and tussled. Naruto followed behind him at the same pace, a good distance of half a block between them, through town until they started to get into the less-safe parts of Konoha.

 _Where the hell is he going?_

Naruto hesitated at the light. He felt weird following after him, but a part of him was worried. Sasuke was shaken, and if he was anything like Naruto, he wasn't thinking clearly anymore. And these parts of Konoha could be brutal; Naruto highly doubted an Uchiha would understand that.

Naruto continued to follow Sasuke through the neighborhood, hands deep in his pockets as the wind whipped through his hair and left goosebumps on his bare arms.

There was no denying it. He was drawn to Sasuke. Naruto didn't know if it was his mysterious aura or simply his asshole demeanor that kept him in Sasuke's orbit, but there was something there. Naruto couldn't keep his eyes off the space between Sasuke's shoulders when he walked, the way his shirt fit snugly along his shoulder blades but flowed freely when it reached his torso. The way his pants made his butt look _really_ nice.

 _Dear God Naruto what have you done._

"I'm falling for him." Naruto whimpered under his breath. "Why am I falling for him?"

Sasuke's walk ended abruptly when he was surrounded by a group of men standing at the mouth of one of the alleys separating the drug store and gambling house. Naruto slowed his pace, but continued to advance down the street to see what was happening.

The four men circled Sasuke, eyeing him up and down, and Naruto heard one of them whistle at their target. Naruto watched Sasuke's mouth move, unsure of what was exactly said, but he was able to assume roughly what the response that came out of the Uchiha's mouth was. The remark landed Sasuke a punch to the jaw before two of the men dragged him down the alley without giving him a chance to recover and fight back. The other two slowly followed after them, glancing around to see if anyone was around. Naruto pretended to be examining a store sign when they looked in his direction, but the moment they disappeared into the alley Naruto started running after them.

He knew it was stupid. But he only had one thing running through his mind.

 _Sasuke's in trouble. He's in trouble!_

Naruto ran on pure instinct, whipping around the corner and nailing the first guy in the back of the neck with his elbow without a second thought. He crumpled to the ground with a yelp and stayed there.

Sasuke had already taken down the other two; they were against the wall, out cold, but the last guy had his grip on Sasuke, pinning him to the cold pavement with a knife pointed at his ivory throat. Naruto could only take in the view in fragments: Sasuke's shirt pushed up, his pants unbuckled, the man breathing heavily into Sasuke's face, Sasuke's eyes locking on Naruto's in what could only be seen as _defeat_.

Naruto put everything into the kick he landed in the man's side.

He could feel the crunch of bone when his foot connected with ribs, he could feel his knuckles meeting bare flesh when he threw his punches, but he couldn't feel his self-control. Naruto knew exactly what he was doing; he held the attacker by the shirt and beat him mercilessly, putting every ounce of anger and frustration into his hits as he crouched over him in the dark. He didn't know if it was anger that forced the tears down the sides of his face, or his earlier guilt, or his general sadness, but they were there; it was almost as if his body was frustrated by the fact that he couldn't stop hitting this man, even when he had stopped fighting back.

Naruto threw his last punch and stopped, his fist inches away from their punching bag, when he remembered Sasuke. He turned his head in minute horror to see Sasuke watching Naruto with an equally terrified look on his face.

 _Oh no. Oh shit, shit!_

Naruto slowly stood up. He made sure not to make any sudden movements as he stepped over the bodies on the ground and approached Sasuke, he felt like he was approaching a cornered animal.

"Hey…" Naruto held out his hand in an offer to help him up. Sasuke stared at Naruto's hand, the blood smeared one was clenched behind his back, before hesitantly taking it. Naruto hauled Sasuke to his feet. While Sasuke zipped up his pants, Naruto dabbed at his bloody knuckles with his dirty T-shirt. He had to pretend not to look at Sasuke's muscular torso as he tugged down his shirt.

"Why the hell are you here?" Sasuke's voice came out in a tired whisper, rather than his usual sarcastic tone.

"I was on a walk and happened to see you." Naruto murmured as he cradled his fist. He couldn't find the heart to look Sasuke in the eyes; their earlier conflict was too fresh in his mind.

"No. I mean, why did you come to help me?" Sasuke demanded.

Naruto's head snapped up, his eyes automatically meeting Sasuke's. He could feel his blood run cold. "What?"

"If you saw me get ambushed, wouldn't you be thinking 'well that's what he deserved'?"

Naruto stared at Sasuke in shock.

"Sasuke, what kind of a person do you think I am?"

Sasuke averted his gaze and narrowed his eyes. "I don't know, but that's what I would assume. I've been nothing but an ass to you‒"

"Sasuke!" Naruto gripped his shoulder with his good hand, ignoring the small wince of pain Sasuke made. Naruto tried to focus as much intensity into his eyes as he put into his words. "No one deserves something like this! No matter what you did!"

Sasuke dragged his eyes back to Naruto's. He didn't say anything else. He stood with his arms crossed in front of him like a potential shield, still rigid from the trauma. Naruto could never imagine seeing Sasuke so shaken up; the hurt-puppy look didn't match his character.

"I'll tell you what you do deserve." Naruto lightly pressed his good fist against Sasuke's cheek. "You deserve a good punch to the nose to mess up that pretty face of yours."

The words were out before Naruto could stop himself.

Sasuke's eyes flew back to Naruto's and widened. He quickly turned his head away, uttering a quiet "tch" under his breath, but Naruto could see the hint of a smile.

Naruto took his fist away to see that it was also smeared with blood.

"Sasuke your face is bleeding!"

"I know."

"Was it from the knife?"

"Yeah." Sasuke said quietly. Naruto squinted to get a better look, but the sun had gone down and left them in darkness, making it nearly impossible to get a good look. He was so used to Sasuke's sass now he half expected Sasuke to give him a smartass response like 'what do you think?'

"I'll walk you home and we'll get it treated."

"You don't have to do that." Sasuke stepped away from Naruto's reach. "You've done enough Naruto."

"Sasuke please, it's dangerous around here and you aren't in the best state of mind‒"

"Why do you care so much?!" Sasuke snapped. The glare wasn't there. It was replaced by a vulnerable and wary stare that pulled at Naruto's heartstrings. He felt like he was seeing the depths of Sasuke's soul, as cheesy as it sounded, and it didn't look like this was the first time he'd been hurt.

"Can we talk about this later?! We need to get you home or else‒"

"No we can't!"

Naruto took a deep breath and blew it out in a frustrated groan. "Because we're rivals, that's why."

The look on Sasuke's face reminded Naruto of himself whenever he was in math class. That dumbfounded, confused and lost expression was a perfect copy of the original. For once, Sasuke was at a loss for words, he stared at Naruto as if he were insane; he'd probably expect the pavement to catch fire before hearing those words.

"Now let's go. Where do you live?" Naruto lightly pulled Sasuke out of the alley by his arm and led the way down the street, staying close to the streetlights as they walked. It took a few light shakes to get the answer out of Sasuke's mouth and nearly an hour to get him home. Naruto was more concerned about them getting arrested; walking through the streets at night in bloodstained clothing and bruises would not be easy to explain.

Sasuke dragged him into the apartment complex insisting on at least treating Naruto's wound first; in Sasuke's exact words, the wound was "fucking disgusting and about to sprout wings". Naruto sat perched on the toilet, letting Sasuke's soft hands glide over his wound, barely listening to Sasuke's instructions on treatment and his recommendations that he go to a hospital.

"I heal fast, it'll be fine." Naruto told him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but stayed compliant and allowed Naruto to treat his wounds before Naruto left. He could tell Sasuke was iffy about allowing him to walk home at night, but with a borrowed shirt and a bandaged hand, Naruto felt a little less suspicious walking the two blocks home.

As he made his way across the street on his way home, Naruto risked a glance over his shoulder. Sasuke stood in the archway of his building, leaning against the frame as he watched Naruto cross the street, his face fixed in a scowl.

Naruto felt his chest fill with warmth and gave Sasuke the heartiest wave he could manage with his bandaged hand. It may have been because he was so far away, but Naruto could swear he saw Sasuke smile.

And it made his heart ache.


	3. Chapter 3: Brothers

Naruto spent his days trying not to stare at Sasuke.

He glared at his computer screen until he got headaches, wrote down notes to distract himself, and tried to fully engage himself with his authors. Sai was already on a fast-moving track with one of his novels, which wasn't much of a surprise to Naruto, but the guy seemed to work independently. He'd rarely call Naruto for anything aside from increasingly personal questions that appeared out of the blue like: 'When you look down in the shower, are you proud of what you see?' Naruto didn't know what to make of it so he played along, but he appeared to have more free time than he'd ever had in a long time.

Friday was another one of those dull empty days. Naruto shifted through his finished work pile, counting down the minutes until he got to leave early, when the phone on Sasuke's desk rang.

Naruto froze, his eyes stopping on the empty desk in curiosity. Sasuke had run out less than a few minutes ago, simply stating that he had errands to take care of. It was normal for Sasuke to keep busy and occasionally do errands, so Naruto tried his best not to delve on it too much, but then again, when was his attention not on Sasuke?

Naruto picked up the phone and lightly cradled the receiver between his cheek and shoulder.

"Konoha Publishing, what can I do for you today?"

A soft, deep voice came from the other end.

" _Is Sasuke Uchiha around by any chance?"_

"You just missed him. I can relay a message to him if you'd like."

" _Ah, no that's fine. I was just hoping to catch him before he left_."

"May I ask who this is?"

The person on the other end chuckled. " _Yes, excuse me. I'm his brother Itachi_."

Naruto felt his jaw drop. Itachi Uchiha? As in the President of Uchiha Enterprises?!

"No way!"

" _Yes way_."

"I can't believe I'm talking to the president of Uchiha Enterprises that's crazy!" Naruto couldn't stop himself from raising his voice; Kiba turned towards him with a shocked expression that quickly turned devious.

" _Are you one of Sasuke's coworkers_?"

"Yeah! You're speaking to the one and only Naruto Uzumaki."

" _Naruto…_ " Itachi mused. " _Oh! I know who you are! Sasuke's mentioned you before_!"

"He has…?" Naruto asked carefully. From what he could imagine, it wouldn't be anything positive.

" _Yes, I found it amusing because he never speaks about his coworkers, yet he had so much to say about you_."

Naruto tried to squash down the inkling of hope that tried to wriggle its way into his stomach and frowned at Sasuke's desk. As long as he'd been working around Sasuke, Naruto didn't know anything about him. Sasuke was nearly impossible to read, and Naruto knew how to read other people better than anyone. Sasuke was a blank page‒more like a blank book considering the amount of history Naruto was lacking. He just wanted something; a foothold, a steady base, just a hint of who Sasuke really was.

"Hey, is it possible…for you to tell me a little about your brother? I mean, I work with him, but he never talks about himself, and I could use some help…"

" _Like blackmail?_ " Itachi broke into laughter on the other line. " _Sure, how about you head over here and I'll buzz you up to my office_."

"Right now?"

" _If you can_."

Naruto glanced at the clock and his empty to-do pile.

"I'm on my way."

"Don't tell me you're meeting the President of Uchiha Enterprises." Kiba hissed as Naruto gathered his things. Naruto shrugged and swung his bag over his shoulder.

"I'm going to get dirt on Sasuke from the best possible person."

"Ah siblings." Kiba mused. "They'll always betray you in the end."

Naruto gave him a parting wave before he darted out of the office. He slipped into the elevator before the doors could close and settled himself in the corner for the ride down.

"Why do you look so happy?" Sakura glared at him over her pile of boxes. Naruto would offer to help her carry them, but he knew Sakura could handle carrying a car if she wanted to.

"Just got off early." He replied. He didn't know how much Sakura was still mad at him, but it was definitely getting better if she was speaking to him again. "Gonna head over to Ichiraku's to celebrate."

"By yourself?"

"I'm used to it." Naruto grinned back, hoping she wouldn't ask any more questions.

Sakura turned her head with a huff and stepped out of the elevator once it reached her floor. Naruto breathed out a sigh of relief once she was gone.

The walk to the Uchiha building was a lot farther than Naruto expected. He made his way through the twists and turns of the streets leading up to it, thankful they weren't crowded yet with rush hour traffic. It was hard enough stumbling around young children and teenagers fresh out of school; traffic would have made it much worse.

He finally reached the building after a twenty minute walk and a slight detour for coffee. Naruto craned his neck to look up the massive establishment; it gleamed in the sunlight, the creamy beige bricks giving the building a modern look that made it stand out more than necessary. All of the buildings in Konoha were fairly old-fashioned and no more than five floors, and here this thing was—towering menacingly over the town as if it were the main attraction.

Naruto grumbled to himself as he walked through the glass sliding doors. He was hit with a blast of cold air conditioning and the scent of cologne in the main lobby. A woman sat at the front desk with her eyes trained on the computer with two men in suits stood on either side of her. When Naruto approached the desk, the woman didn't bother to look up. Her dark eyes roamed across her computer screen and her fingers danced across her keyboard with lightning speed.

"Are you Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Y-yeah."

"Mr. Uchiha will see you on the thirty-fifth floor. Inabi and Yashiro Uchiha will show you the way."

The two bodyguards stepped forward in unison, their eyes falling on Naruto. They led the way to the elevator, walking in silence with Naruto less than two steps behind them. The ride up felt miserable; standing in silence between two hulking men that could easily snap Naruto in half was a little nerve wracking. They didn't seem to like him that much either, but Naruto figured the look of disdain was something every Uchiha carried with them from the moment they were born. He wondered what Itachi would be like. Would he be mean and sassy like his younger brother? Or would he be a decent human being?

The elevator doors dinged open to a white hallway. Naruto followed the bodyguards through it; his eyes wandering across every portrait that hung along the walls. The walls were quickly replaced by floor to ceiling length glass windows, displaying the whole town of Konoha, something Naruto had never seen from up high before. The hallway ended with a large brown door with a large plaque that simply read 'President' on it.

The two men stopped and gestured for Naruto to head inside.

With a gulp, Naruto opened the heavy door and stepped inside to an even brighter office. He took in the color red before anything else; it decorated the room in surprising accents. A red vase on the bookshelf, a red rug, a red lantern, a red chair; they were scattered across the room to ultimately draw attention to the man seated behind the massive red desk in the center of the room. His long dark hair was gathered into a ponytail behind him, and his eyes were on Naruto the moment he opened the door.

"Welcome Naruto." Itachi smiled at him. It was a pleasant smile, not full of sarcasm and indifference like Naruto was used to from Sasuke. "Glad you could make it."

"Sorry it took me so long to get here." Naruto scratched at the back of his head and lingered by the door, unsure if it was safe for him to move around.

"No worries. Come over here so I can get a good look at you." Naruto quickly obeyed, hurrying over to Itachi's desk as quickly as possible without tripping. "I hear you're one of the best editors in Konoha?"

"Yessir!" Naruto smiled back, pride swelling in his chest. "I plan on carrying that title for a long time!"

"You appear to be very dedicated. Of course my kid brother would try to take that title away from you." Itachi frowned. "It's just like him too."

"Taking things away from people?"

"Well you came here to get dirt on him correct? What is it that you wish to know about Sasuke?" Itachi leaned back in his seat and smiled. It almost appeared wicked; that evil glint in his eyes that Naruto had seen in Sasuke's was all too familiar. There was no doubt they were related.

"Why is he so mean?" Naruto blurted out. He couldn't help but ask the most obvious question, it was all that really mattered. "I mean, he doesn't try to get close to anyone and he just sasses me to no end!"

"He's always been sharp-tongued." Itachi sighed, dropping his chin in his hand. "He doesn't connect with other people well either, he's always been an independent kid. I don't think he liked to socialize in school either. It drove our parents insane."

Naruto chewed on his lip as he listened, committing every fact that came out of Itachi's mouth to memory.

"When it comes to being mean…I'd have to say it stemmed from me. He wasn't always an angry kid, I think it only started recently…"

"Did you do something to him?"

Itachi's lip quirked up.

"Sasuke wanted to take over the company. He argued about it with our father for hours, but my father wouldn't comply. When he died and I took over, Sasuke became as bitter as can be and refused to work here anymore." Itachi met Naruto's gaze, "then he joined your company and here we are."

"Just like that he had a career change?" Naruto scowled at the ground as he tried to put together the puzzle that made up Sasuke. He quit his family business to become an editor? Not only was that a major downsize in income, but it was a completely different job environment. What would make him want to do something like that?

"Did he ever express an interest in reading?"

"No more than the average child." Itachi straightened up and narrowed his eyes. "I was just as surprised as you seem to be."

Naruto nodded, not knowing what else to say. What other questions could he ask about Sasuke? What else did he wish to know?

"You seem to have a special interest in my brother. Are you a friend of his?"

Itachi's question caught Naruto off guard. 'A special interest' made Naruto feel like a stalker, but there was no other way to put it. He was interested in Sasuke, much more than he was with the average person that was for sure, but they weren't even close.

"I don't think he considers me as a friend…yet." Naruto chose his words carefully. Itachi studied him with the same dark eyes Sasuke possessed, raking over every feature of Naruto's face before responding with an airy laugh.

"'Yet'…I like that. That means you haven't given up on him." Itachi spun his chair closer to his desk and beckoned Naruto to come over. "Let me show you some baby pictures."

"Are you serious? Show me all of them!" Naruto rushed to Itachi's side and watched the slideshow of baby pictures on the computer. Itachi explained the album and the reasons for Sasuke's expressions (he cried a lot), and their laughter filled his office every time they stumbled across one of Sasuke's Halloween photos. Naruto learned that Itachi and Sasuke had a very pretty mother who had died young of an illness when Sasuke was only five, leaving their strict father in charge of them until his recent death. Sasuke was the perfect student, but with his father running the company he was left to do whatever he pleased and dropped off of Itachi's radar.

"He used to be so cute." Itachi pouted, his finger resting on a photo of Sasuke in a high-chair. "Next thing I knew he was snapping at me. It was always 'play with me Itachi, play with me' but I never had time and kept putting him off. Now it's come back to haunt me."

"That's how it always is." Naruto sighed, capturing yet another photo onto his phone for future blackmail. "I'll never have time for kids."

Itachi hummed in agreement, his expression held a sort of fondness Naruto had never seen before. He supposed it was something siblings shared, almost like a parent's bond with their child, but then again Naruto didn't exactly know what that was like either. If Itachi was so fond of his brother, why was he so eager to tell Naruto his secrets?

"Is there…something you want me to give you in return for all of this?" Naruto straightened up a little as a small sense of dread began to trickle through his bloodstream. He couldn't let his guard down, he was around an Uchiha; the most powerful Uchiha in fact, there's no way he would get free information.

"Something I want?" Itachi glanced over his shoulder with a thoughtful expression. "No, no I just like to talk about Sasuke. He doesn't ever talk about or bring around his friends so I found you extremely interesting."

Naruto sighed in relief and dropped his shoulders.

"Actually, there is something I'd like for you to do for me."

Naruto swallowed and braced himself for the worst. "Y-yeah?"

"Don't give up on Sasuke, he'll try to push you away, but he needs you." Itachi turned back to his computer and sighed. "I already destroyed what we had, but you have a chance."

He wanted Naruto to be Sasuke's friend? That's it?

Naruto tried his best not to let his scoff slip out, but it nonetheless made its appearance.

"Me? Give up?" Naruto laughed. "I never give up Itachi, don't worry I'm going to be Sasuke's best friend whether he likes it or not!"

"Thank you…I really appreciate that." Naruto caught the reflection of Itachi's smile in the computer screen. He quickly brought up the bathtub photos to Naruto's delight and the two fell into another squealing session over Sasuke's butt.

Their short bonding experience ended when Itachi's office door was thrown open.

Naruto snapped upright in surprise, but Itachi didn't react at all when Sasuke stormed into the room in rage.

"Itachi? What the hell is he doing here?" Sasuke demanded, thrusting a finger at Naruto. He sounded winded, almost as if he had ran there, but not a hair on him seemed out of place.

"We were just having a nice chat." Itachi replied, casually exiting out of his photo album with a smile. "I like your friend a lot."

"He's not my friend!" Sasuke snapped back before he turned his fury to Naruto. "How do you know my brother and why are you here?"

"He called the office?" Naruto offered, his hands already up in surrender. "Like he said, we were just talking!"

"About what?"

"You." Itachi's smile widened into a cat-like grin. "I told him _everything_."

Sasuke blanched at his brother and balled his fists at his sides. Naruto watched the anger rise in him like a boiling tea kettle and he automatically took a step back, fearing the impact.

"Naruto I need to talk to you." Sasuke growled through his teeth and crooked his finger at Naruto before pointing out into the hallway. "Come here."

"I don't wanna." Naruto whined.

"Come here."

"You're gonna hit me."

"Get your ass over here!" Sasuke left the office and Naruto slowly followed after him, waving goodbye to Itachi as he left. Now Itachi had gotten him into deep shit with Sasuke and Naruto was almost sure this would be the end to his short life. Sasuke would launch him out of the window and he'd fall thirty plus floors to his death.

He walked down the hallway, following Sasuke's footsteps in silence until they stepped into the elevator together. Naruto watched the doors close in front of them in fear. He could be killed here and no one would see…

"What did my brother tell you?" Sasuke asked quietly. It wasn't calm‒Naruto could tell Sasuke was far from that‒he was just containing his anger for later.

"Nothing really." Naruto remarked. He found Sasuke to be pretty cute when he was angry; that light shade of pink he got in his cheeks was adorable. If he was going to die anyway, he should drag it out as long as he could.

"Don't play dumb with me Naruto."

"I'll tell you if you tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"What do you tell your brother about me?" Naruto turned to face Sasuke full on‒he didn't have a height advantage considering they were nearly the same height, but he could at least try to intimidate him with his gaze. Sasuke didn't seem to like prolonged eye-contact.

"I don't say anything." Sasuke hissed back.

"And Itachi didn't tell me anything." Naruto smirked.

Sasuke glared at him silently until they reached the bottom floor.

"You need to stay away from here!" Sasuke growled once they were outside. "You have no business in that building!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Itachi told me I was welcome any time!"

"You are _not_ welcome! Ever!"

"You don't even work there anymore, you don't have a say if I go in there or not!"

"I do have a say! I'm an Uchiha and I forbid you to step foot in that building again!" Sasuke's voice rose to nearly a shout, the loudest he'd ever been, but Naruto was too angry to notice.

"I will do whatever the hell I want! And like hell I'm telling you what he told me!" 

"I will break your legs and throw you in the river Uzumaki!"

"Bring it you lousy Uchiha!"

"Just tell me what he said!"

Naruto shook his head defiantly and crossed his arms. "No."

"Naruto!"

"You were a really fat baby." Naruto hinted with a wicked grin of his own.

Sasuke stared at him in shock, recognition slowly registering on his face.

"Oh shut the hell up! Why can't you just leave me alone?!"

"Really? Leave you alone? After what happened the other day?" Naruto took a step towards Sasuke, pushing him back. "I can't leave you alone, period."

"I don't need you." Sasuke growled. "I can take care of myself. I have been, long before you, so butt out of my life and go live your own!"

"You're the one that walked right into it!"

"I did not."

"You did! You're a lousy bastard and you piss me off more than anyone else on this planet but you still did!"

"If I'm a lousy bastard and piss you off so much, why do you fucking care?!" Sasuke hardened his gaze and stepped forward again, but Naruto wasn't about to let himself be pushed back.

"Because I like you!" Naruto shouted. When he realized what he said he quickly rambled on, "I-I told you last time, we're friends! Of course I'm gonna care about you!"

Sasuke's anger died at Naruto's words. It simmered into nothing and left him glaring at the ground with a somewhat defeated look.

"We aren't friends." Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"Yeah yeah keep saying that." Naruto hummed, thankful for his quick rebound. The two stood in silence for a few seconds, thrown back into reality; the bustling traffic of Konoha's rush hour had begun and people were crowding the streets. Naruto didn't want to go home yet though. The sun was still out and Sasuke was still standing in front of him, staring at the ground like he wanted it to suck him up and out of existence. Naruto had an idea. "Sasuke, come out for a drink with me."

Sasuke's head snapped up. "What?"

"Let's go get a drink! We're both done with work and it's Friday—"

"No."

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

"I don't drink."

"You liar!" Naruto cried. "Sasuke just one drink, you owe me."

Naruto automatically felt bad for pulling the card, but he didn't know how else to get him to come along. He hoped Sasuke would comply rather than get angry.

Sasuke opened his mouth to protest and promptly shut it. He seemed to run something through his head while he searched Naruto's expression. "Fine."

Naruto had to bite back his urge to jump for joy as he dragged the dark haired boy with him through the flow of people on the sidewalks. He made sure Sasuke didn't try to slip away into the crowd to make his escape or turn around while Naruto wasn't looking; he wouldn't put it past Sasuke to try.

Sasuke kept his eyes down while they walked, allowing himself to be guided to an unknown destination without a care in the world. He responded to Naruto's chatter with nods and 'tch's that made Naruto's heart swell more than it should.

Naruto ended up dragging Sasuke to one of the bars he normally frequented with Kiba on their days off. It was situated a little far from Naruto's apartment, but it was nearby their current location, and Naruto realized it had been a while since he had last been there.

Sasuke picked the table; he led Naruto to the back area of the bar, away from the crowd of people sitting in the front and hidden from view.

"Don't want to be bothered." Sasuke told him when he asked, his as voice cold as usual. Naruto shrugged it off and bought them their first round of beers.

"Loosen up a little!" Naruto teased and shook his beer bottle at him. "It's just me, geez."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and took a sip of his beer. His eyes glanced over every corner of the room before they landed on Naruto. "Okay, you dragged me out here, so entertain me."

 _Entertain me._

Naruto snorted and proceeded to chug the rest of his beer. Sasuke watched him in mild disgust; his own beer bottle poised in front of his mouth waiting for Naruto to finish.

"'Kay ask me anything and I'll tell you."

"What did my brother tell‒"

"Anything but that." Naruto raised a finger before he proceeded to open his next beer. "Like my family, my past, my sex life…"

Sasuke pursed his lips and finished off the rest of his beer with a pensive look.

"Okay, what about…"

And just like that Sasuke launched a multitude of questions at him. What did he like to do in school, who was his first girlfriend, when did his parents die?

Naruto responded eagerly, happy that Sasuke was finally curious about him and relieved that Sasuke was starting to open up and relax. After a while, Naruto began to realize that he was getting a little…too relaxed. Sasuke plowed his way through six beers without Naruto noticing until it was too late, and by then they were both giggling at each other.

"I'm telling you he let me fall down the stairs!" Sasuke popped open his seventh beer with a smile. "I got my first bloody nose and all he could do was laugh at me!"

Naruto had to set his beer down to stop it from spilling while he laughed. He had gotten the impression that Itachi was a good guy‒but then again, like Kiba said, siblings would always betray you in the end. Naruto didn't have siblings so he didn't know what it was like. He imagined it would be nice; someone by your side who you could teach and tease, someone to keep you company and watch out for you when your parents were gone…that seemed nice. Sasuke liked to talk about his brother. The times he'd been humiliated by him and the good times they shared before they grew apart, all of the memories he shared with Naruto were told with a smile and Naruto loved it. Sasuke had an amazing smile, it seemed out of place on a face that just scowled all the time; this was more natural. It was dazzling and it drew Naruto in; he could see why people thought Sasuke was so charming.

Naruto knew he was falling hard. He didn't know if it would be better to suppress it or just go along with it. He had finally managed to get through to Sasuke, did he really want to ruin it to pursue his own selfish desire?

"Sasuke you should smile more." Naruto hummed and dropped his cheek into his hand. "I guarantee people would like you more."

Sasuke paused from his drink, a smile already threatening the corners of his lips. His cheeks were dusted in a fair shade of pink and his eyes appeared black in the lighting.

"I don't care what people think of me. They approach me because they find me attractive and they leave when they see what my personality is, that's just the way it works."

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"Not really. I have my flings and then I move on. I don't have time for a girlfriend." Sasuke huffed with another sip.

"I'm sure if you opened up a little the whole world would fall in love with you."

"Oh yeah? What about you top-shot? I heard from Sakura that you're quite the ladies' man." Sasuke teased with a raised brow.

Naruto felt the smile slip off his face. Sakura knew that was in the past. Maybe not that far in the past, but Naruto had stopped his one night stands and partner jumping. He told himself it was because of work and he didn't have the time, and Naruto tried to convince himself it was because he loved Sakura, but maybe he was looking for something a little more stable. He didn't know how far he could open up to Sasuke without making him uncomfortable, but he wanted to be honest.

"I've had my fair share of flings." Naruto admitted. "I don't know if the ladies loved me, they hung around me when I went to bars and sometimes I'd go home with them, but it wasn't always just women."

"Men too?" Sasuke asked in surprise, his beer briefly forgotten in his hand.

"Yeah, but that was a while back. I still consider myself bi though…" Naruto said warily, bringing his beer to his lips to drown away his discomfort.

"Wow I had no idea." Sasuke replied and leaned across the table onto his elbows. "I always thought you were straight! Are you in love with Kiba then?"

Naruto almost choked on his beer.

"No! Kiba and I are just friends from college!"

"Oh? Well that's okay." Sasuke's words slurred and he frowned down at the table in frustration. He brought his eyes up to Naruto's and offered him a small smile. "I'm sure you could get whoever you wanted, you're a nice guy."

Naruto stared at Sasuke in surprise. Was he just complimented? By Sasuke?!

 _He's so drunk, I should probably stop him._

"People tend to dig the blonde hair and blue eyes combo, even if you're stupid, they won't care." Sasuke chuckled and fished around their depleting basket of fries.

 _I'm not going to stop him. I'm going to see where this takes us._

Within the next hour, Sasuke had plowed straight through his limit and nearly drowned Naruto in compliments. The guy became nice when he was drunk and failed to believe in _personal space_ , leaning onto Naruto while laughing and whispering random thoughts into Naruto's ear like they were the secrets of the universe. Naruto refused to drink anymore after his third beer, knowing that it was going to be his duty to get the Uchiha home before he could cause trouble and ruin his oh-so-perfect reputation.

The walk to Sasuke's apartment wasn't easy.

Sasuke put too much weight on Naruto's side, forcing them to shuffle down the less crowded streets of Konoha to avoid attention; Sasuke's giggling filled the night air as they walked.

"I would call you a lightweight but you plowed through almost nine beers tonight." Naruto grumbled when Sasuke's apartment came into view.

"Nine beers is nothing." Sasuke replied with a wave of his hand. "It's been a while so…"

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto muttered as he unlocked the front door with the key he took from Sasuke's pocket.

The interior was just as fancy as Naruto remembered it being; the high ceiling with the fancy chandelier dangling from the center, the marble floors of the small lobby area, and the brand new elevators along the wall made Naruto fear what the monthly rent bill looked like.

He shuffled himself and Sasuke into the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor with a huff. Sasuke hummed along to the elevator music as they rode up, his eyes on the little flat screen TV in the corner of the interior. Naruto rolled his eyes; Sasuke was a completely different person when he was wasted, and at this point Naruto didn't know which one he preferred.

Naruto figured his job would be over once he opened the door to Sasuke's apartment for him, but when Sasuke invited him inside, Naruto couldn't say no. He followed Sasuke inside; the first section of the apartment he'd seen when Sasuke treated his wounds, but the rest of the apartment was new to him.

Sasuke had a spacious living room, but it was sparsely decorated. A large black couch took up a lot of the space and so did the massive flat screen TV against the wall, yet there was still room to maneuver around the place. The living room ran into the dining room which connected to the kitchen; it was bigger than Naruto and Sakura's and filled with fancy new appliances that had probably never been used.

He couldn't help but be awestruck at Sasuke's living conditions. It must be nice, having so much money and not knowing what to do with it; especially having such a nice spacious place all to yourself.

Naruto dropped onto the couch beside Sasuke and let out a yawn. The day's events were starting to catch up to him and leave him feeling exhausted. Sasuke must've felt the same as he leaned his head to rest on Naruto's shoulder so easily Naruto would've believed Sasuke was a friendly person.

"You didn't have to drag me home."

"Yeah I did you can barely walk on your own."

"I would've found a way." Sasuke mumbled. He tilted his head to look Naruto in the eyes before he sat up. "You're just too nice for your own good."

"You're just not used to nice." Naruto replied with a small smile. "Be nice and others will be nice to you."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "That's too much work."

Naruto didn't know how it happened, but the next thing he knew, his hand was roaming through Sasuke's dark hair. His fingers slipped through the soft, silky strands with ease, noticing that it was nothing like his thick and tangled hair.

"Sorry you had a strand sticking up." Naruto lied. He couldn't take his hand away though, it moved behind his ear, along the back of his neck where the hairs got finer, and back up to Sasuke's bangs, which he brushed to the side gently. To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke let him do it. He closed his eyes and let Naruto run his fingers through his hair, making a small hum in the back of his throat while he did so.

 _He's like a cat._

"I'm not like a cat." Sasuke muttered at Naruto's quiet remark. He opened one eye and attempted to glare at him, but failed and ended up breaking into a smile.

"You are like a cat! You're so cute I just want to pet you." Naruto ran his fingers through his hair a few more times before he realized what he said. _Well shit…_

"You think I'm cute?" Sasuke replied. Naruto didn't want to see Sasuke's reaction; he was expecting to get smacked or called loser, anything remotely Sasuke-like to snap him out of his dream, but when he met Sasuke's gaze he realized that the dark haired boy was serious.

"Well…yeah." Naruto admitted, letting his hand idle on the back of Sasuke's smooth neck. He could feel his face burning under Sasuke's stare and his palms were starting to sweat. _Oooh boy did it get hot in here or‒_

"Thanks." Sasuke said quietly, but he quickly added with a pout, "but I'm not cute."

Naruto couldn't stop himself from breaching the small gap between them and pressing his lips to Sasuke's. Sasuke's lips parted on command against Naruto's, letting out a small moan as Naruto ran his tongue along the inside of his mouth. Naruto couldn't believe how soft Sasuke's lips were; and he was just as surprised when Sasuke started to kiss him back, his own delicate fingers weaving their way through Naruto's thick blonde hair and giving it a little tug. The small tingle of sensation brought Naruto back to reality and he pulled away with a lewd pop.

He had to stop before he went too far.

"I-I have to go Sasuke." Naruto stammered and stood up quickly. His breathing was already a lot faster than it needed to be, he had to go home before he did something he shouldn't‒if he didn't already.

"You have to go?" Sasuke echoed with a frown. When Naruto moved to walk past him, Sasuke's hand gripped Naruto's wrist. "No, can't you stay?"

"I…I don't know if I should…"

"I have plenty of room." Sasuke stood up. "I have another bedroom, or you could sleep on the couch."

Naruto chewed on his lower lip and dropped his gaze. His skin felt like it was burning underneath Sasuke's cold grip, and his heart felt like it was going to rupture, and still he couldn't say no to Sasuke. Thinking about it, living alone in such a large apartment sounded extremely lonely. It was too much space for one person, and Naruto wondered how long Sasuke had been living like this. Leaving him alone felt like a cruel act of punishment rather than a favor.

"The couch is fine."

Sasuke brought him a few pillows and blankets from the spare bedroom and dropped them onto the couch.

"Make yourself at home." He said quietly.

"Thanks." Naruto settled underneath one of the blankets and found himself extremely comfortable. "Goodnight Sasuke."

"Don't let the ghost that lives here haunt you and possess your body." He replied in a monotone and shut off the light. Naruto stared into the darkness with wide eyes and brought the blanket over his head to hide.

 _Damn you Sasuke!  
_

Naruto woke up at a seemingly ungodly hour; the sunlight streamed through the windows and lit up the apartment; the clock on the wall read ten-thirty. Naruto frowned, he was used to sleeping in until at least twelve, yet here he was, on Sasuke's couch fully awake on only nine hours of sleep.

"I'm in too deep." Naruto whimpered quietly and stared at the high ceiling. He didn't want to leave without saying goodbye to Sasuke, but he also feared the wrath that might come with a hungover Sasuke. He didn't believe it would be pleasant, but could it be that much worse than Sasuke on the average day?

He didn't have to wonder for too long. Fifteen minutes later, Sasuke emerged from his bedroom and walked into the kitchen. He rummaged around the fridge for a few minutes before he came into the living room.

Naruto stretched out with a yawn to let him know that he was awake. He flipped onto his stomach to look at Sasuke.

"Did you forget that I was here?"

Sasuke blinked at him before taking a sip of his water.

"No, I'm used to waking up with people on my couch."

Naruto frowned, not sure what to make of that comment, and sat up.

"Did you sleep well?"

Sasuke dropped his eyes to examine his water bottle with a bored expression.

"More or less." He lifted his gaze to meet Naruto's. "How was the couch?"

"Comfier than my own bed." Naruto groaned back, dropping his face onto one of the pillows. "But I expected as much."

Sasuke let out an affirmative hum and proceeded to drink his water. He stood rooted in the middle of the room, held down by an invisible anchor. Naruto began to worry if Sasuke remembered what happened last night‒and if that was what made him keep his distance.

"Sorry I let you drink so much last night." Naruto tried to give him a good-natured laugh, but he felt as if it fell a little short.

Sasuke made a sour face and squeezed the air out of his plastic bottle with a loud crunch.

"It wasn't all bad."

"You don't look hungover at all." It was true, Sasuke looked as how he normally did; aside from the messy hair and sweatpants, along with a t-shirt slightly too large for him that he'd probably never wear outside even if his life depended on it. He didn't look tired or angry, angrier than he normally was; Naruto was starting to truly believe that Sasuke was not human.

"Yeah, well." Sasuke said bluntly. Naruto could finish the sentence on his own. _I sure as hell feel like it._

"Yeah sorry. I dragged you out and let you blow past your limit…" Naruto sat up with a sheepish smile. _Please don't hate me._

"It doesn't matter, I had a good time." Sasuke said under his breath, or at least, that's what Naruto heard.

"What did you say‒"

"Do you want breakfast?" Sasuke asked suddenly, glancing over his shoulder.

"Uh…sure?"

Naruto watched Sasuke pad back into the kitchen without another word. After a few heartbeats of sitting in awe, Naruto finally found the strength to get up and follow Sasuke into the kitchen.

Naruto knew there was no going back now. He had officially fallen for Sasuke. As mad as that made him, Naruto couldn't help the smile that came to his face when Sasuke scowled at him as he stepped into the kitchen to join him. Nor could he stop himself from laughing whenever the boy called him 'loser' or 'idiot'; to him they were simply words of endearment that he wanted to hold close to him in fear that they'd be given to someone else.

"Quit staring at me you idiot!" Sasuke snapped and pushed him aside so he could stand at the counter.

Naruto scooted to the side and gave Sasuke a cheeky smile. _I wouldn't be able to stop staring, even if I tried._


End file.
